So thank you fireman Dave for scaring the bejeesus out of the 11 year old

Friday, September 5, 2014
5:37 PM

Sometimes
I write things on here just because I saw or heard it... like today I
saw a pink dog. And I like that I can say whatever the heck I want to
on here because it's mine. See how I added the heck part? Because it's
flavorful and I want to.

I
was recently invited to write for our church's blog as a bi-weekly
contributor. And at first I was hesitant. I still kinda' am, wondering if I'll be a good fit. Wondering if I'll have readers and Facebook likers and in general, wondering what I've gotten myself into. But I said yes to trying, anyway. But after the first published post, quick as a flash, I went to read what
was actually published to make sure they didn't take all the Kristi
out of it. Like breaking news of a pink dog. Or words like heck or sometimes
#$&% which stands for words I may hear presently in my mind but
would never dare to utter out loud. Because I am a southern lady even
though I failed in the back to school cookies on the porch challenge. I always liked the way my grandmother used the word outfit to
fill in the blanks for anything she couldn't remember the real word
for. Like if she didn't remember your name, she'd say... Oh my, did you
seeMs Outfit out there in the yard today in her nightgown? Or
if she needed potatoes at the store but couldn't come up with the word,
she get all flustered with some hand motions and say something like,... YOU KNOW... well, outfit. Better than saying damn, and serves in kind of the same spirit. It's really all purpose.

And I find that I remember the oddest things now... sometimes I dream about it, sometimes I get a little memory drive by that came from nowhere. Like Ms. Outfit..... I can't quite put my finger on the who, what, and where... but the memories are flooding in at a rapid pace.

So on that note, I was giving some thought to the seasons of life. And of course our new post Labor Day season with the 100 degree day here in early September that made my sweaty work clothes stink in the car. But the calendar makes it official and I can now begin to sweat in my fashionable boots, decorate the porch with a pumpkin, and call it Fall.

Last week at work I witnessed the emotional meltdown of one of our older adult gym members and it was hard to watch. And it was hard to know how to handle the moment. And hard not to be thankful that I'm not in that particular season of life. And then a young mom accidentally locked her purse, keys and baby inside her hot car and some quick thinking was in order. And I again thought how thankful I am to not be in that particular season of infant and toddler parenting anymore.

Around here, kid 3 has been having nightmares about the same time each night for several weeks now. And I can't decide if it's a growth phase that will work itself out, or if it's because his daddy showed him a scary movie where a crazy murderous maniac broke into a family's home - a fireman family's home, wouldn't you know,... see the similarities? And then they all had to fight to stay alive. So thank you fireman Dave for scaring the bejeesus out of the 11 year old. And I now officially nominate you as his counselor and sleeping buddy till all this passes.

But things change at such a rapid pace. And sometimes in a split second... and THAT scares the words right out of me. Sometimes without me even noticing, I look up and I'm in an all new spot. So I write to make sense of it all, and to make peace with so much that runs though my mind. And I document it all as it happens. Like my pink dog sighting today.

Sometimes I think it makes a difference in our understanding - my understanding - when we can look back on our memories from this new view where we stand today. And can piece together a little bit more of the big picture. And I can only imagine the checklists and calendar conflicts and general chaos in God's loving and oh so patient mind - as he navigates and moves and works within each of us in such strange and beautiful ways to work out something in the end, that has been in the works of his heart since the beginning.